Howard, the leader who loves being a loner

Friends of John Howard, the Australian prime minister, say he should never be underestimated, even when he looks isolated in leading his country into a highly unpopular war.

As his television advertisements currently blanketing Australian airwaves make plain, Mr Howard has presided over eight years of economic growth and low interest rates.

He says he will not raise taxes. His successful management of the economy may yet carry him to a fourth term.

Mr Howard's support for President George W Bush and Tony Blair, in leading the campaign in Iraq, has gained him acceptance in Washington and London, but won him few friends in the Australian heartland.

Yet the more Australians take to the streets to protest against Mr Howard's willingness to commit a token force to the US-led operation in Iraq, the more the Australian prime minister has seemed to relish his isolation.

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When asked how he would cope if he lost the election on Saturday, Mr Howard replied: "I'm a tough bloke." As he spoke, anti-war protesters again took to the streets.

Mr Howard, 65, is 22 years older than his challenger. Mark Latham, the Labour leader, encourages television cameras to observe his power jogs; Mr Howard, by contrast, takes a low-key morning power walk, and he actually looks rather better and trimmer that his opponent.

Mr Howard will not apologise for joining Mr Bush's war on terrorism. He stressed at the weekend that he would defend Australia's interests by launching pre-emptive strikes against rogue Pacific nations should they be deemed to harbour Islamist terrorist groups.

Mr Howard has promised additional funding to keep Australia "safe" from terrorist attack and, rather like Mr Bush, has suggested that taking military action abroad would defend the homeland.

In his campaign, Mr Howard has flaunted the notion that maintaining Australian security is an issue for the Australian government, and one that Mr Latham is too erratic to perform. Voters seem reluctant to take that claim at face value.

"I think we'll make it," Mr Howard said in a television interview. "But it's very close."